South China's Guangdong Province, as one of the country's manufacturing and foreign trade powerhouses, reported a record high of 2.04 trillion yuan (about billion 281.86 billion U.S. dollars) in foreign trade between January and March, growing 12 percent compared with one year ago and remaining as the first in the country, said customs officials on Tuesday.
During a press conference in the provincial capital city of Guangzhou, Zhang Ke, deputy director of Guangdong Branch of the General Administration of Customs said that Guangdong registered an import volume of 731.14 billion yuan in the first three months, up 17.6 percent compared to one year ago, and its exports increased nine percent year on year to 1.31 trillion yuan during the period.
Guangdong's encouraging foreign trade data is mainly reflected in five aspects -- fast overall growth, strong vitality of business entities, stable trading partners, robust export momentum and increased import volumes.
"Both exports and imports achieved growth, up 10.1 and 10.5 percentage points respectively from the fourth quarter of last year. The imports and exports of private enterprises, mainly small, medium and micro companies, reached 1.28 trillion yuan, increasing by 19.2 percent and accounting for 62.9 percent of Guangdong's total import and export value. Imports and exports to ASEAN members stood at 324.42 billion yuan, a growth of 5.3 percent. ASEAN remains as the largest trading partner (of Guangdong)," said Zhang.
As the data signifies a good start for Guangdong's foreign trade, the Guangdong Branch of the General Administration of Customs predicts that the province's imports and exports will continue to improve in the next few months and will basically remain on the growth trajectory in the first half of this year.
Meanwhile, the Guangzhou Customs has stepped up efforts to ensure the smooth holding of the 135th session of the China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, which opened on Monday and is scheduled to run until May 5.
"We have launched 18 measures to serve guests at the 135th Canton Fair, and continued to optimize online and offline consulting services. Up to now, more than 70 batches of Canton Fair inbound exhibits worth more than five million (yuan) have arrived through the Guangzhou Nansha New Port, Guangzhou Jiaoxin Wharf, Guangzhou Baiyun Airport and other ports," said Li Yu, deputy commissioner of the Guangzhou Customs.
Going forward, with a focus on industries such as integrated circuits, ship export, biomedicine, electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and photovoltaic products, the Guangdong Customs will continue to innovate regulatory models and improve customs clearance efficiency and service methods, as part of the efforts to help the province develop new quality productive forces to spur advanced productivity and high-tech breakthroughs.
Guangdong's Q1 foreign trade hits 2.04 trillion yuan
